Davis researcher hurt in explosion arrested

DAVIS (AP) — A University of California, Davis, researcher who was injured in an explosion at his campus apartment early Thursday has been arrested, police said.

David Snyder, 32, was arrested Saturday on suspicion of possessing an explosive, possessing materials with the intent to make a destructive device and possessing firearms on campus, said UC Davis Police Chief Matt Carmichael.

The 1 a.m. blast caused only minor damage to Snyder’s apartment in the university’s Russell Park housing complex but forced the evacuation of about 100 people while the materials were removed and officials investigated, police said.

“While we have no information to suggest that Mr. Snyder was plotting some broader crime on the campus, in today’s environment the potential safety risk to the community must be taken extremely seriously,” Carmichael said.

“We are relieved that the explosion was not worse and that no members of our community other than Snyder were injured,” Carmichael said.

Snyder suffered hand injuries after the explosion and went to a local hospital for treatment, with hospital officials later notifying police, The Sacramento Bee reported Sunday.

For nearly 20 hours after the blast, bomb squads from the Yolo, Placer and El Dorado sheriff’s departments, Sacramento police and the California Highway Patrol worked on removing chemicals from the apartment.

The FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also called in to assist.

Authorities have not revealed what the explosive materials were and have not identified the type of firearms they say they found in Snyder’s apartment.

University officials would not release details about the injuries Snyder suffered, but they said he was released from the hospital Sunday afternoon and booked into the Yolo County Jail. Bail was set at $2 million.

Snyder — who was working in a temporary position as a junior researcher in a campus chemistry lab — was placed on investigatory leave while the incident was being investigated, university spokeswoman Claudia Morain said Sunday.

Snyder previously received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from UC Davis in 2004 and a Ph.D. in chemistry in December 2011.

After earning his doctorate, he held a temporary one-year research appointment through UCSF that allowed him to work at UC Davis. That position ended in November. His current temporary job with UC Davis began in December was due to expire Jan. 31, Morain said.